FUOYE VC to Tinubu: Prioritise varsity autonomy to avoid incessant strikes

Abayomi Fasina, the vice-chancellor of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), has called on Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, to prioritise university autonomy when he assumes office.

NAN reports that the VC spoke during the fourth matriculation ceremony for postgraduate students of the university in Oye-Ekiti on Tuesday.

Fasina said a major challenge facing public universities in Nigeria is the incessant strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a result of poor funding and lack of infrastructure.

He also advised the president-elect to appoint technocrats as ministers for agriculture, education, and finance in order to ensure the stability and efficiency of his government.

“I want to appeal to our incoming president-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu to approve university autonomy which will put an end to incessant strikes that always affect the academic calendar of the tertiary institutions,” he said.

“FUOYE is moving at a high speed to ensure that our academic calendar is stable and working, but other universities are badly affected as a result of the prolonged strike.

“If the government can employ technocrats who are experts in various fields such as education, economy, agriculture, and business, the development of Nigeria will be rapid in all ramifications.”

The VC also called on the postgraduate students to attend lectures regularly and carry out their research diligently to enable them to finish their programme in record time.

Corroborating his point of view, Raphael Omolehin, dean of the postgraduate school at the institution, said that the major challenge facing the rapid growth of universities is the lack of autonomy.

“The university management does not have the power to employ academic staff without taking permission from different government agencies,” he said.